Town Librarian’s Computer compromised; Library basement flooded with fuel oil

Sources  tell the Cape Charles Mirror that the Town Librarian’s computer has been infected with a ransomware virus that has encrypted all the files on the machine, and is demanding a substantial sum to un-encrypt the files. Ransomware is a type of malware that can be covertly installed on a computer without knowledge or intention of the user that restricts access to the infected computer system in some way, and demands that the user pay a ransom to the malware operators to remove the restriction. The files located on the librarian’s infected machine were not backed up and could not be saved. Inspection also found over 100 viruses on the computer. While Bay Creek Communications is trying to salvage the hard drive, whether there are any efforts establish the extent of the breech has not been determined at this time. Also undetermined is whether the machine was infected with Remote Access Trojans (RATs)—such as the infamous Cult of the Dead Cow’s Back Orifice and the lesser-known TheThing. RATs are able to gain administrative control of the machine, allowing it to do just about what ever it wants, including creating botnets and accessing file systems. Whether any of the malware gathered confidential information from the client computer, or was able to compromise the greater network, is also not known at this time.

Due to a fuel leak, the Cape Charles Library had to close for a brief time while crews from Pep Up responded to inspect the tank. It was determined that the leak originated from an underground tank near the sidewalk on Pine Street, and entered the basement through cracks in the foundation. According to town sources, only a limited amount of fluid entered the building, and it was mainly the smell that caused the library to be closed. Pep Up removed the remaining fuel from the damaged tank. Whether the town will abandon the tank in place, or replace it, is still being assessed at this time. An above ground tank will more than likely be installed at the back of the building, possibly near where the future recycling area will be located.